NEWTOWN -- While millions of dollars have been pouring into the community in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, a fund set up by the state for first responders and teachers has so far received only about $20,000 in contributions.

The Sandy Hook Workers Assistance Fund was created by the state Legislature last month to help teachers and police officers, firefighters and other first responders with lost salaries and unpaid medical bills not covered by workers compensation insurance.

Though the state set up the fund, which officially began operations at the start of the month, it is being supplied solely by private and corporate donations.

Linda Cimino, director of the state's Office of Victim Services that is overseeing the fund, said the amount of money donated to date is of concern because, according to state law, they will only have 10 days to fulfill requests for assistance once received.

So far, she said, the office has 27 applications from workers affected by Sandy Hook. Those who have applied, she said, have yet to submit requests for reimbursement for either lost salary or medical expenses.

"We wanted people who might need help to have their applications on file, so that when they needed assistance the process could be that much quicker," Cimino said.

According to her interpretation of the state law that created the fund, Cimino said about 300 people would be eligible for assistance.

That includes police officers, firefighters and medical workers who arrived at the school on Dec. 14, as well as teachers and other school staff affected by the shooting.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe said one of his employees has yet to return to work since the shootings, and others have taken intermittent leaves as needed to deal with the tragedy.

He said that most officers, in a deal reached with the union, have been using short-term disability and sick time to help cover lost salary, but that will go only so far.

"We certainly don't know what the long-term impact will be, a few months from now, six months from now, even a year from now, when many of these employees will have exhausted these benefits," he said. "It would be nice to have a large-enough buffer in the fund to help meet those unknown needs."

Kehoe said he is sure those who said they would donate to the fund will "step up to the plate. I have every confidence they will."

Officials with Comcast helped to beef up the fund on Thursday, donating $5,000 as part of a grand-opening celebration of a new Xfinity service center in Danbury.

Mary McLaughlin, regional vice president for Comcast, said as members of the community, employees were deeply saddened by the tragedy.

She said company officials felt it was important to donate to the fund "that provides aid to the brave first responders and school personnel who were first on the scene and endured so much."

Kim Morgan, executive director of the local United Way, said they have yet to receive bout $20,000 in commitments to the workers fund.

The United Way, like other charities, can act as "pass throughs" for the donations, she said, because many companies can donate only to organizations that offer tax deductions.

"Any money that we receive for the workers fund gets sent to the state every Friday," she said.